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Thursday, 19 January 2012

Now
that's what I call spunk! Having the guts to not only reject a possibility of a
place at an Oxford college, but then the temerity to speak to Oxford dons using their
own poncy, put down language deserves an award!

How
often do you hear about a state school pupil sending their own rejection letter
to Oxford University mocking its standards and rituals after being interviewed
for a place? Elly Nowell, 19, wrote to Magdalen College that it 'did not quite
meet the standard' of other universities.

In
a parody of the institution's own letters, she wrote that she found the
'obvious gap' between minorities and white middle-class students
'embarrassing'. She said in her letter to Magdalen College that there were
'significant flaws' in its education system.

Mocking: A-level student Elly Nowell, who is predicted A*s in history, law and English literature, sent a scathing

Miss
Nowell, from Winchester, Hampshire - who is predicted A*s in her history, law
and English literature A-levels - now hopes to study law at University College
London.

She
described the Oxford University interview process as 'torture' and the college
as 'rude' for not even providing a glass of water. She also criticised the
'grand formal setting' of the interview, saying it was 'intimidating' and
biased towards public school pupils.

Yesterday
she said: 'It was during my interview that I finally realised subjecting myself
to the judgment of an institution I fundamentally disagreed with was bizarre. 'I
spent my entire time at the university laughing at how seriously they were
taking everything and felt like the only atheist in a gigantic monastery.

'Oxford
is a fairly ridiculous and prominent elitist institution, yet unlike the
monarchy or investment bankers it is rarely mocked. Even
comedians tend to avoid Oxbridge as a subject. Being a successful student
should depend on the student and not on whether a couple of academics think you
shine in a 20-minute interview.'

Hat's off girl! It's about time that those ridiculous institutions get a dose of their own medicine. They dole out rejection letters by the hundreds every year so it's really nice for them to receive one once in a while!

The Thai Smiles

Here is a link to my articles at Absolute Thai magazine

Watching the Thais: From the Outside Looking in

I will soon be adding a link to Amazon.com, Waterstones, and W. H. Smith, on how you can buy my new book Watching the Thais: From the Outside Looking in, which is being published by Legend Pressquite soon. I am now waiting for the ISBN number to be delivered. I will also be publishing an extract, probably the first chapter here soon as well.

I will also be publishing links to magazines, especially where I have published articles, so watch this space as they say.

Here's one for now - http://www.absolutethai.com/issue-02/magazine.html Check out my features on aspects of Thailand, especially 2nd edition (with pic of Will Smith on the front cover) pp.24-27, and pp.52-53

Stat counter

Is there a doctor in the house?

Here you'll find my day-to-day musings on my doctorate - 'The Role of the Outsider in Storytelling'. Feel free to make comments or add opinions as you wish. The first Reflective Journal Entry is on November 27th and thereafter you will see them from December onwards.

About Me

I am a PhD Writing student who loves literature whether it's English, French, Russian, or whatever.
I'll soon be writing about the final stages of my thesis, the write-up period, the time when it all has to come together to form a unified and coherent whole.